Commentary 3 hours ago

Guest commentary by Brett Webb-Mitchell Spread before us on a table in Colonial Heights Presbyterian Church’s fellowship hall were 50 white paper lunch bags, embellished with displays of red, pink and sparkling hearts. Our group, Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship, met on a Sunday afternoon before Valentine’s Day for a combined time of worship and a service project. Into each bag we placed a decorated pencil, a large bright eraser, chocolate candy, a small bouncing ball and other odds and ends that young students would enjoy. After we stuffed each bag… continue reading...

Looking into the lectionary 4 hours ago

Genesis 45:3-11, 15; Luke 6:27-38 Ordinary 7C; Proper 2 The Genesis text for this week offers an image of what Jesus instructs in Luke. Jill Duffield’s lectionary reflections are sent to the Outlook’s email list every Monday. Jesus tells us to love our enemies. Pray for those who persecute us. Turn the other cheek. Be merciful. Do not judge. Do to others as we would have done to us. The list is as familiar as it is difficult. And yet, some people manage to embody these demanding, seemingly impossible instructions.… continue reading...

Book Reviews 1 day ago

Luke Timothy Johnson WJK Press, 392 pages True story: A young pastor wrote an article for the church newsletter one Easter making the point that the resurrection was the keystone of the Christian gospel. Two families declared that that was too much for them to swallow, and they hit the road. Anyone who has been on a pastoral staff knows there are others with similar sympathies who keep it to themselves. Such knowledge tempts those who preach to turn the volume down when it comes to the bolder affirmations of… continue reading...

Ministering with the Earthby The Presbyterian Outlook January 1, 1998Book Reviews62 viewsBy Mary Elizabeth MooreChalice. 1998. 226 pp. Pb. $19.99. ISBN 0-8272-2323-4 Ministering with the Earth is a quiltwork, both the on-the-ground activity and Moore's book about so ministering. Moore, professor of theology and Christian education at Claremont School of Theology, is fond of the metaphor, suitably pastoral and feminist.

Remembered Voice: Reclaiming the Legacy of 'Neo-Orthodoxy'by The Presbyterian Outlook January 1, 1998Book Reviews58 viewsBy Douglas John HallWJKP. 1998. 145 pp. Pb. $18. ISBN 0-664-25772-0 It was in this order. I first read Tillich's Dynamics of Faith. Riveting. Next came The Courage to Be. Gripping. Then I went back and read the first volume of the Systematic Theology. Things began to make sense. Next came Biblical Religion and the Search for Ultimate Reality. Positive.

Rethinking evangelismby Bill Tammeus January 30, 2019Faith Matters1 commentBecause many people now think evangelism means fundamentalists shouting on street corners, lots of mainline Protestant churches have backed away not only from the word but, sadly, from any meaningful practice of it.Charlene Han Powell, executive pastor at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York, says she’s finally come to terms with the word and now wants to resurrect it in a way that mainliners can accept — not grudgingly, but enthusiastically.
Powell spoke about this recently to my home congregation in Kansas ...

All approved: Assembly approves recommendations from Way Forward, All Agency Review and report from Vision 2020by Leslie Scanlon June 21, 2018Outlook Reporting1 commentST. LOUIS – With relatively little discussion and no drama, the General Assembly approved the recommendations of the Way Forward Commission and All Agency Review Committee.
While some commissioners struggled to understand the complexity of the proposals, those who have wrangled with these issues for months – and there’s been no shortage of drama there – have said they involve issues of power, control, accountability and trust.
The changes the assembly approved June 21 by a vote of 474-47 will mean governance of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), A Corporation – a secular corporation the church uses to ha...

(PNS) The Rev. Dr. Brian Blount, the president of Union Presbyterian Seminary, has been a major influencer of theological education in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and beyond.
In addition to leading Union’s two campuses in Richmond, Va. and Charlotte, N.C., Blount served until the end of last year as president of the Society of Biblical Literature and continues as president of the Association of Theological Schools (ATS), an accrediting commission for more than 270 graduate theological schools in the United States and Canada.
“One of the great gifts of being president at Union is that I get to pastor an academic community with all kinds of broader church connections,” he said.
Blount is also vice-chair of the Committee on Theological Education (COTE), which is helping build connections between the General Assembly and PC(USA) seminaries. By asking questions of how each party can support the other’s work, he has been able to share with seminaries items of utmost … [Read more...]

Guest commentary by Brett Webb-Mitchell
Spread before us on a table in Colonial Heights Presbyterian Church’s fellowship hall were 50 white paper lunch bags, embellished with displays of red, pink and sparkling hearts. Our group, Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship, met on a Sunday afternoon before Valentine’s Day for a combined time of worship and a service project. Into each bag we placed a decorated pencil, a large bright eraser, chocolate candy, a small bouncing ball and other odds and ends that young students would enjoy. After we stuffed each bag with fun materials, on red paper hearts pasted on white doilies we hand-wrote “Happy Valentine’s Day!” and placed one card into each bag. The festive bags went to students at Markham Elementary in Portland, Oregon, a school with children from many different races, ethnicities and nationalities. This was our way of letting the children know that they are loved. Weeks later, we heard from one of the school volunteers that the … [Read more...]

Genesis 45:3-11, 15; Luke 6:27-38
Ordinary 7C; Proper 2
The Genesis text for this week offers an image of what Jesus instructs in Luke.
Jesus tells us to love our enemies. Pray for those who persecute us. Turn the other cheek. Be merciful. Do not judge. Do to others as we would have done to us. The list is as familiar as it is difficult. And yet, some people manage to embody these demanding, seemingly impossible instructions. Joseph does.
Joseph asks first about his father, but his brothers remain so stunned they cannot speak. Joseph tells the very ones who threw him in a pit and left him for dead, “Come closer to me.” Surely, they imagine this proximity will bring retribution, but instead Joseph tells them, “Don’t be distressed or angry with yourselves.” He attributes their sinister behavior to divine providence, as life preserving in the midst of death. He assures the brothers who betrayed him that he will save them, their families, their flocks. He kisses them, weeps … [Read more...]

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Pope Francis on Thursday (Feb. 21) opened a highly anticipated four-day meeting on his church’s ongoing sex abuse crisis by calling on the assembled bishops and other Catholic leaders to “hear the cry of the little ones who plead for justice” and be “concrete.”
“The holy People of God look to us, and expect from us not simple and predictable condemnations, but concrete and effective measures to be undertaken. We need to be concrete,” Francis said.
But as the day wore on and the nearly 200 clerics debated ways to respond to the crisis, it became less clear which “concrete” responses can be agreed upon by a global church rattled by multiple scandals, or whether they will satisfy abuse victims.
Francis opened the conference the featured episcopal presidents of the more than 150 nations by distributing 21 “reflection points” for consideration by church leaders. The recommendations included preparing a handbook for local churches to follow in abuse cases, … [Read more...]

LONDON (RNS) — The Church of England’s most senior leaders are expected to rebuke Britain’s political leaders over their handling of Brexit at the church’s General Synod this week.
In a special motion at synod, just weeks before the Brexit deadline, the archbishops of Canterbury and York will urge politicians to do more to heal divisions in society.
The motion, put forward by Justin Welby, archbishop of Canterbury, and John Sentamu, archbishop of York, says that “social divisions feel more entrenched and intractable than for many years.” It also refers to “the divisions within the major political parties which are stifling the emergence of a hopeful and viable visions for the common good in our communities.”
Although the motion does not explicitly mention Brexit, it says that “the nation’s leaders must work together for the common good at this time of division” and that the Christian commitment “to putting the voices of the poor and marginalized at the heart of the nation’s … [Read more...]

“... You’re no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You’re no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. [God’s] using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what [God] is building. ...” Ephesians 2:19–22 (MSG)
Christ calls the church to strive for an existence where there are no exiles and everyone has a space in God’s home. The president of the United States declared a state of emergency at our southern border. What he calls a national security crisis, a use of our laws, is vastly different from the reality of those living on the border and those waiting in Mexico to seek asylum and protection in the United States.
Every nation has a right to protect its borders but that does not excuse us from our international obligation to those seeking safety. We as church are called to do better, to be better. With the reconciling peace of Christ, we can be guided in … [Read more...]

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News from Other Sources ▼

(PNS) The Rev. Dr. Brian Blount, the president of Union Presbyterian Seminary, has been a major influencer of theological education in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and beyond.
In addition to leading Union’s …

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Pope Francis on Thursday (Feb. 21) opened a highly anticipated four-day meeting on his church’s ongoing sex abuse crisis by calling on the assembled bishops and other Catholic leaders to “hear the …

LONDON (RNS) — The Church of England’s most senior leaders are expected to rebuke Britain’s political leaders over their handling of Brexit at the church’s General Synod this week.
In a special motion at synod, just …

“... You’re no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You’re no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a …

(PNS) Each year, on a Sunday during Lent, Presbyterian churches across the denomination turn their attention to people and communities in need — and take a day to celebrate the mission and ministry of the Presbyterian …

(RNS) — For many United Methodists, the road to St. Louis is paved with anxiety.
Will a special session beginning Saturday (Feb. 23) — considered the most consequential in the denomination’s history — find common …

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Outpost Blog 4 days ago

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What's right? 4 days ago

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Outlook Reporting 5 days ago

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Outlook Reporting 6 days ago

LOUISVILLE – How can the 2020 Vision Team lead the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in living into the future – into a redemptive, transformative type of change? The 2020 Vision Team – which has some new members – posed for a group picture at its Louisville meeting. That’s at the heart of what the Vision Team is discussing during its Feb. 16-18 meeting in Louisville, in which the team is also considering potential revisions to its draft guiding statement (most likely smaller adjustments rather than wholesale changes), and how it could provide additional…